Lingerie tape holder



Nov. 3, 1936.. F. J. SWAYNE LINGERIE TAPE HOLDER Filed Sept. 24, 1934Patented Nov. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES LINGERIE TAPE HOLDER Frank J.Swayne, near Centralia, Wash, assignor to The De Long Hook and EyeCompany, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 24,1934,Serial No. 745,309

7 Claims.

My invention relates to a device intended for securement to the shoulderportion of a woman's dress, waist, or other outer garment, to receivethe shoulder tapes of. lingerie, so that these tapes can not fall fromthe wearers shoulders, or drop into a position where they becomevisible.

Such a lingerie tape holder must be substantially n0 larger--certainlyno wider--than the tape itself, as the shoulder straps of eveningdresses are frequently only of sufiicient width to conceal the lingerietapes. The holder must therefore be inconspicuous or invisible evenunder such circumstances. It should be so constructed that it causes nobunching or break in the contour of the shoulder of the dress, and

therefore should be substantially flat or planiform. It must be capableof permanent attachment to the dress, if desired, and by convenientmeans, such as by sewing, and therefore must be sufiiciently small andrugged to stay in place while the dress to which it is attached goesthrough laundering or cleaning processes. If it is preferred that it beonly temporarily attached to the dress, this must be by easilyengageable means, and whatever the character of the attaching means,they must be inconspicuous and of such character as will not damage theclothing nor be uncomfortable to the wearer. It must be simple andtherefore cheap, so that it may be widely adopted.

It must be capable of permanent securement, when this is desired, in asimple manner, easily accomplished, that will hold it against unduedeparture from its proper position, preferably flat against the shoulderportion of the garment, in a line with the extent of the lingerie tapes.It must be readily engageable and disengageable with these tapes,without damage to them or to the dress, yet unlikely to be accidentallydisen-- 40 gaged. When engaged, any pull or stress caused by thelingerie tapes should be so applied to the holder, and by it to thedress, that such pull or stress serves only to hold the holder the moresurely in its proper position, and the tapes flat 45 within the holder,not bunched or rolled into a string.

It is to the accomplishment of the above ends that my invention isdirected, and the invention, to such ends, comprises. the novel holder,the

5 novel parts thereof, and the novel relative formation, arrangement,and relationship of such parts.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown the principles of my inventionembodied in various illustrative forms.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the shoulder portion of. a dress andthe underlying tape, illustrating how my invention is applied to andemployed with the same.

Figure 2 is an elevation, and Figure 3 an edge view, of one form of theinvention.

Figures 4 to 9, inclusive, are elevations of various forms of theinvention, each differing from the others in certain respects; Figure '7is the form which I prefer at the present, when a permanently attachedholder is desired.

For cheapness, ease of construction, ruggedness, small size, and likeadvantages, I prefer that the holder be formed of wire, and that it beformed by bending one piece of suitable length. This, however, is amatter of choice, and many of the advantages of my invention may berealized if it is formed of other material or materials, or is made bymethods other than bending or forming into shape, or if its severalparts are separately formed and suitably connected, rigidly orotherwise. To maintain it flat and .inconspicuous, and to avoid injuryto clothes or wearer, I prefer that all parts lie in one common plane,yet this also is optional, and some forms shown arev not so arranged.The naming of one material or form of material in the claims is,therefore, to be understood as including all equivalent materials orforms of material.

Essentially the holder comprises an open loop I to receive thetape 4, aportion typified by the hook or pin 3 of Figures 2 and 3, for securementto the dress, and a shank 2 or other connecting part extending betweenthe loop and the dressengaging part3. Thus, the part 3 is somewhatdistant from the loop, and the shank 2 serves to transmit tension fromthe loop I to the part 3, and to the shoulder portion 5 of the dress, towhich the latter is secured. 7

Various securing means are shown in the several figures of the drawing.Since the plane of the hook 3 of Figures 2 and 3 is at right angles tothe plane of the loop I, and may cause an unsightly bunching or breakingof the contour of the shoulder part 5 (though it may be more easilyengaged therewith), the hook 30 of Figure 4 is shown disposed in thtplane of the loop I.

A pin 3|, having a longer line of bearing on the dress fabric, is shownin Figure 5. These are all detachable forms. In Figure 6 an eye 32 isshown, whereby the holder may be stitched to the dress 5. Since a singleeye, as shown in Figure 6, may permit swinging or rotation of the holderabout the axis of the eye, the wire is shown bent into S shape, asindicated at 33 in Figures '7, 8 and 9, to form a double eye, which canbe so stitched, as indicated at 6 in Figure 1, that such rotation isimpossible, and the holder can be held without deviation from itsintended position.

The wire, after being formed into such securing means, 3, 30, 3|, 32, or33, as may be desired, extends away therefrom to form the shank 2. Thisshank is preferably straight, and extends to a point 1, whence it isbent outwardly from the shank, or from a straight line including thesecuring means and the point 1. This outward extension is designated 1I. From the outermost point of this extension the wire extends inwardlyto form the straight side l0, and past the straight line which includesthe securing means and the point I by an equal amount on the oppositeside of such line. Thence the wire extends inwardly to the point I, asshown at l2. It may stop just short of the point 1, to leave a slightopening 8, through which the tape 4 may enter or leave, edgewise. A rollI3, at the end of the wire and at one side of the entrance 8, preventsdamage to the tape in entering or leaving.

The loop is preferably of a Width just sufiicient to receive the tape,when the latter lies fiat. The fiat tape bears all along the straightside l0, and the portions II and [2 press down equally upon the upperside of the tape, thus holding it flat. Because the straight side I!)preferably is normal to and substantially bisected by the shank, or, asshown in several of the forms illustrated, the shank lies adjacent to aline normal to the straight bar Ill, through its mid-point, all tensionor stresses originating in the tape are so transmitted to the securingmeans that there is no particular tendency to move the holder from itsintended position. Similarly, and for the same reasons, there is notendency for the tape to slide to one side of the loop, or to bunch androll into a string; rather it lies fiat, held or in a sense clampedbetween the straight side 10 and the opposite inclined sides II and [2.

Rather than terminating at the point 7, the wire may extend within theloop, as indicated at M in Figure 8, thus forming a somewhat moretortuous entrance for the tape. It may be again bent outwardly from thepoint 1, as indicated at IS in Figure 9, to better define the entrance,and to guide the tape thereinto.

These or any form of loop incorporating the principles of my inventionmay be employed with any one of the securing means, though it must beborne in mind that a form wherein all parts lie substantially in acommon plane is preferable, for reasons given above, and that a doubleeye as shown at 33 will more surely hold the holder in proper position,and will better overcome any tendency for the tape to slide off to oneend of the loop and to swing the holder sidewise. The form shown inFigure '7 is, therefore, the one which at present seems most preferable.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A lingerie tape holder comprising a wire formed at one end for directsecurement to the wearer's dress, and extending thence in a straightline to a point spaced from such end, thence in turn angularly outwardlyfrom a line connecting said end and point, inwardly and past such line,and then at a like angle inwardly to such line to form an open loop of awidth to snugly receive the tape, and equally disposed at opposite sidesof said line, all parts of said Wire lying substantially in the plane ofsaid loop.

2. A lingerie tape holder comprising a wire having a sewing eye formedat one end for securement to the wearers dress, and extending thencesubstantially in a straight line to a point spaced from such end, thenceangularly outwardly and then inwardly along a straight line, normal toits first direction, and past the projection of this first direction byan amount equal to its aforesaid outward extension, then at a like angleinwardly substantially to said point, to form an open loop lying in theplane of the sewing loop, and having a straight bar over which the tapelies when received in the loop.

3. A lingerie tape holder comprising one piece of wire bent to form atransversely extending loop open at its upper side, a shank extendingupwardly from the loop, in a general line substantially bisecting andgenerally normal to the lower bar of the loop, and bent in S-shape atthe upper end of the shank to form two closed sewing eyes disposed closeto and at opposite sides of such line.

4. A lingerie tape holder comprising one piece of wire bent to form atransversely extending loop having a straight lower bar of a lengthsubstantially equal to the width of the tape to be held, the wire ateach end of the bar being inclined inwardly and upwardly towards a linenormal to and substantially bisecting the bar, one inclined wirestopping short of such line to leave an entrance to the loop, the otherinclined wire extending upwardly along such line substantially bisectingthe bar, and being formed at its upper end for direct securement to thewearers dress.

5. A lingerie tape holder comprising one piece of wire bent to form atransversely extending loop having a straight lower bar of a lengthsubstantially equal to the width of the tape to be held, the wire ateach end of the bar being inclined inwardly and upwardly towards a linenormal to said bar through its mid-point, one inclined wire stoppingshort of such line to leave an entrance to the loop, and there beingrecurved in the plane of the loop to form a ring defining such entrance,the other inclined wire extending upwardly on its side of such line, andbeing formed at its upper end for direct securement to the wearersdress.

6. A lingerie tape holder comprising a piece of metal shaped to form aloop of substantially the width of the tapes to be held, having atransverse lower bar and side arms inwardly directed towards each other,but spaced to define an opening for entrance of tapes into the loop, ashank joined at one end to one of the side arms of the loop, andextending away from the loop, and a sewing eye at its distant end formedfor direct securement to the wearers dress, the line of the shank lyingadjacent to a line normal to the bar at the latters mid-point, and allparts of the tape holder lying substantially in the plane of the loop.

7. A lingerie tape holder comprising one piece of wire bent to form atransversely extending loop having a straight lower bar of a lengthsubstantially equal to the width of the tape to be held, the wire joinedto each end of the bar being directed inwardly therefrom, one such wireextending upwardly on its side along a line normal to said bar throughthe latters intermediate portion, and being formed at its upper end fordirect securement to the wearers dress, and the other inwardly directedwire being spaced from the first wire to form an entrance to the loop.

FRANK J. SWAYNE.

